Night Out In Sunnydale
by Dingoes Groupie
Summary: Sequel to Weekend In L.A. When the Fang Gang and the Scoobies head to the Bronze for Dawn's birthday expecting a band or even a D.J, imagine their surprise when they enter and find a karaoke system instead.
1. Night Out In Sunnydale

Title: Night Out Author: Dingoes Groupie Pairings: C/A, W/T, D/C, slight X/A & B/S Summary: When the Fang Gang and the Scoobies head to the Bronze for Dawn's birthday expecting a band or even a D.J, imagine their surprise when they enter and find a karaoke system instead.  
Timeline: Set between Normal Again & Entropy.  
Disclaimer: Not Mine, Never will be Feedback: Yes Please! A/N: This story was inspired by RedDwarfette's, 1 Tequila, 2 Tequila, 3 Tequila, Floor, and she has been kind enough to give me permission to use her idea. Thank you again and to everyone else who hasn't read it I would totally recommend it. Put simply, It Rocks! You can find the link on my favorite▓s page.

A/N 2: This is the sequel to Weekend in L.A. It can be read as a stand alone but I would recommend reading the other first.

Chapter 1

Dawn sighed as she followed her sister into the new offices. "How much more stuff could there possibly be?"

"One more load." Willow answered coming out from the kitchen. "Thats from the house, this is the last of the books from Giles' personal collection at the magik box and Xander brought over most of the magic supplies last night on his way home." She bounced lightly on her toes. "Tara should be arriving any minute to do the de-invite spell and put up the protection spells."

Dawn shared an amused smile with her sister at Willow's enthusiasim.

"And how are things going with you two." Buffy asked as she started unpacking the boxes they'd just brought in into the new shelves Xander had installed earlier that week.

Willow grinned at her. "Well, she doesn't hang up when I call now."

A confused look settled on Dawn's features. "Tara hung up on you?"

"Well no... but she may have well as. And that was when she answered the phone, most of my calls went straight to voice mail." Her grin grew even wider, "But not anymore."

Buffy smiled. Glad to hear that her two favourite Wiccans were at least talking to each other again.

She had always liked Tara. Ok, there was the time where she didn't understand most of what the blonde said. Then there was the guilt she felt over what had happened to her because she refused to give up Dawn. But there was also the deep gratitude for the way the soft spoken witch had looked after Dawn while she was 'away' and the way she had helped her with the whole Spike fiasco. Tara had become much more to her then just Willow's girlfriend which she was ashamed to admit that thats all she was for a long time.

"Well I propose that those with Slayer strength go and get the rest of the stuff while those with the actual patience to cataloge properly stay and start putting this stuff away." Dawn said offering her sister a cheeky smile.

"Tara should be here any minute and Xander not long after to put in the last of the shelves so if you wanna stay Dawnie I'll go back with Buffy and help her sort through the last of the stuff."

Dawn pulled the small stereo out from under the desk the't installed and plugged it in. "No problemo." She paused for a minute and looked at her sister. "You okay with that?" She asked unsure if Buffy would let her stay on her own even if Tara and Xander would be here soon.

Buffy looked into her little sister's eyes and had a flashback to when Dawn had taken care of the Vamp at the warehouse in L.A and nodded her head. "Keep a sword nearby and I'm cool." She smirked. "I think you're old enough now."

Dawn let out a loud whoop that had both the older women grinning. "Finally she notices."

"So are Angel and Cordy still coming?"

Buffy put the phone back on it's cradle and turned around to face her little sister "Yes Dawn, Conner's still coming" She said, a smile on her face. "Your in luck, they have no urgent cases at the moment and baring Cordelia having a vision they will be here at sundown"

Dawn rolled her eyes and hoped she was putting up a convincing act of indifference "Why would I care if Conner's coming or not, I just wanted to see what clothes Cordy and Faith got me for my birthday, unlike a certain slayer I know they actually have fashion sense" She said the last part teasingly.

When her sister didn't answer Dawn knew she was back in one of her moods. Though they were becoming less frequent over the past week, Dawn knew that she was still having trouble with the whole coming back from heaven stuff. With a sigh she stood up "I'm gonna go upstairs and see what Willow's up to and then start getting ready, there's only about 3 hours till sundown, they're meeting us at the bronze right?"

Buffy nodded and as Dawn started to walk past she grabbed her arm gently "Dawnie, I'm sorry, I know I'm not exactly the most cheerful person right now, but I don't wanna upset you on your birthday." It came out almost pleadingly.

The youngest Summers smiled gently "I know Buff and it's ok, honestly, I understand... Well I don▓t actually understand cause I haven't been there, but I can imagine what your going though and I'm totally ok with it, you just take the time and space you need and if I can do anything to help or if you wanna just talk, I'm here, anyth-"

"Ok babble girl, I can see you've been taking lesson's from Willow haven't you" Buffy said with an eyebrow raised

Dawn flushed lightly "I just don't wanna put any extra pressure on you than you already have to handle, you just deal with your stuff right now, I promise, my stuff will still be here later." She finished with a grin

"Ooof" Dawn grunted, the air expelled from her lungs at the sudden introduction to a Slayer strength hug. She was also becoming a lot more emotional, which considering the mask of cold indifference she used to wear all the time, was, in Dawn's point of view, a big improvement. "Uhh Buffy..."

"You know I love you right"

She let out a soft laugh "Yeah I know, I love you too"

Pulling back slightly Buffy ran her fingers though her little sisters long brown hair "I can't believe your 17 already"

Reveling in the comfort, she smiled "Yup, lil sis is getting to be not so little anymore huh"

"You got that right, when are you gonna stop growing, your not allowed to be too much taller than me"

The smile that is on her face is the first real smile she's worn all day, and for a moment Dawn could see the old Buffy shinning through, and while that moment passed a little to quickly it gave her hope that maybe one day soon she might have her big sister back for good.

Pulling back completely Buffy sat down on one of the breakfast stools. "You go see Willow and then get ready and I promise we'll have a great time tonight, no more mopey Buffy" And for a moment that smile flicked in her eyes again.

Grinning Dawn nodded her head before leaving the kitchen and heading for the stairs.

-  
knock knock

"Come in"

Opening the door, Dawn peeked her head in "Heya Will, what'cha doing?"

"Oh hey Birthday Girl, just going over some notes from class.■ Willow sat up putting the lid back on her highlighter. "What can I do for you?"

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she looked up at the red head. "I was just wondering if you knew who was playing at the Bronze tonight?"

Her forehead crinkling, Willow had to think for a moment. "Nope, Sorry Dawnie, apparently they did have a band booked, The Clashers, or The Trashers or something like that but I heard someone at school yesterday say they cancelled or something, so unless they can get another on such short notice we'll probably just have a D.J or something, why?"

Standing up Dawn just shook her head, "I was just didn't wanna get there and have some crappy music to listen to. A D.J will be cool though." She headed for the door before turning again "We're meeting the Fang Gang, Xander, Anya and Tara at the Bronze at sundown and hopefully Spike as well, so I'm gonna go and start getting ready"

Grinning Willow looked up "That's fine, two and a half hours to get ready though, isn't that a bit mu... ahhhh Conner's coming huh?"

"Aaargh" and Dawn stomping out was her only response. Laughing she took the cap off her highlighter and got back to work. 


	2. Uh Oh

Chapter 2.

When the three girls arrived at the Bronze just after sundown they found the Fang Gang and the rest of the Scoobies in the parking lot obviously waiting for them.

Dawn almost squealed when she saw Conner leaning against his father's car dressed in a pair of new dark blue jeans, a fitting dark green t-shirt and a black leather jacket, looking as gorgeous as usual, she managed to hold it in but a smile still appeared on her face a mile wide.

Buffy and Willow saw this and both rolled their eyes.

Willow leaned over to Buffy. "No, she doesn't like him at all" She whispered sarcastically.

Buffy gave a small giggle before calling out. "Hey guys"

Nearly all as one the group in the parking lot turned to look at them.

Xander came running over, picked Dawn up around the waist and swung her around. "Hey, hey birthday girl"

Dawn let out a light yelp before laughing. "Put me down Xander"

She missed the dark scowl that crossed Connor's face though Cordy didn't. "Play nice." She hissed.

Xander chuckled before lowering her to her feet. "As the lady wishes." He said with a grin on his face.

By this time the rest of the group had made it's way over she looked around and noticed that four people were missing. "Where are the rest of the guys?"

"They had to stay behind." Cordelia said. "A client came in only half an hour before we left and it was something that couldn't wait, so they opted to stay behind so we could come. They said to tell you they were really sorry and sent their present's for you with us"

Dawn felt a little disappointed but covered it well as she received many 'Happy birthdays' and hugs from all her friends before she found herself in front of Conner. Giving her a nervous smile, he gave her a hug that lasted longer than necessary but still shorter than Dawn liked, and said his own "Happy Birthday"

Dawn smiled back at him. "Thank you." Neither moved, lost in their own private world, and it wasn't until Xander said something about going inside that they broke apart both blushing profusely.

"Yes" Dawn said. "Let's head in"

-  
After paying the cover charge to enter the club they were all stopped by Xander who was in the front.

"No, no way" He cried, trying to turn back around but because of the amount of people behind him was pretty much impossible. "No way, no how, am I going anywhere near that thing."

Thinking it was a demon the rest of the gang pushed their way into the club and almost started laughing, well nearly all them did, Angel managed to turn even paler than normal, and Conner looked confused, at the sight of the karaoke equipment sent up on the stage.

Both Cordelia and Dawn let out a little squeal when they saw the stage. Dawn turned around and released the puppy dog eyes full force at Xander while Cordelia did the same to Angel and both men tried to resist.

Buffy leaned over to Willow "Which one do you think will cave fir-" She was cut off by Dawn's triumphant yell indicating Xander had indeed caved. "Never mind"

Willow grinned at her. "You should know Xander's a sucker for the puppy dog eyes"

Buffy just grinned back at her when she saw Cordelia turn around with a victorious smile of her own. "Yeah but so's Angel."

-  
The group managed to find a table large enough for all nine of them plus an extra seat for when Spike arrived before turning to the problem at hand. "Who was going to sing. While the guys argued about not wanting to at all, the girls argued about who was gonna go first.

They were starting to get very loud when Tara stood up. "Hey" She yelled.

Everyone was so stunned by normally quiet Tara yelling they immediately shut up.

"Why doesn't whoever sings pick the next person to go up?" She asked reasonably.

"But who's gonna get up first?" Anya responded.

"Well I think Dawn should go first." Buffy said slinging her arm around her sister's shoulder. "It is her birthday after all."

"I second" Willow added.

"And I pass the motion, your up first sweetie." Cordelia said giving her a quick grin.

Dawn grinned back at them before grabbing several song books, a pen and a few bit's of paper to write her name and song choice on before coming back to the table. Giving all the books but one to her friends she started flipping though the pages.

"I▓m gonna get a drink" Xander said standing up. "If I'm gonna sing, I'm not gonna sing sober. Anyone else want?" He took their drink orders and headed for the bar.

"I'll give you a hand" Willow said and stood up to follow.

Finally finding a song that she knew Dawn quickly wrote down her name and song choice, she stood up and walked over to the equipment next to the stage. Smiling at the operator she noticed his shirt had the name 'Dave's Karaoke'.

"You'll be up next Dawn."

Giving him another smile she headed back to the table. 


	3. Not A Girl

Chapter 3

When the person on stage finished their song, Dave picked up his microphone. "Okay everyone, listen up" He called. "Next up we have Dawn with 'I'm not a girl, Not yet a woman.'"

She stood up her face reddening as she made her way to the stage with all her friends cheering behind her, and she realized eight people can make a lot of noise when they want too. Trying to calm her nerves, Dawn unhooked the microphone from the stand, took a deep breath and waited for the music to start.

"I used to think I had the answers to everything But now I know That life doesn't always go my way Feels like I'm caught in the middle That's when I realize

I'm not a girl, not yet a woman All I need is time, a moment that is mine While I'm in between I'm not a girl"

She looked over to her sister, the previous night and the willingness to let Dawn stay on her own even if it was only for half an hour till Xander showed up meant a lot to Dawn and she wanted to make sure Buffy knew that she apprieciated it and that this song was only to reaffirm the trust Buffy was slowly starting to place in her..

"There is no need to protect me It's time that I Learn to face up to this on my own I've seen so much more than you know now So don't tell me to shut my eyes

I'm not a girl, not yet a woman All I need is time, a moment that is mine While I'm in between I'm not a girl"

She saw the proud smile on Buffy's face and couldn't help but smile back at her.

"But if you look at me closely You will see it in my eyes This girl will always find her way

I'm not a girl, not yet a woman All I need is time, a moment that is mine While I'm in between I'm not a girl"

Dawn closed her eyes and belted out the rest of the song.

(I'm not a girl) I'm not a girl, don't tell me what to believe (Not yet a woman) I'm just trying to find the woman in me, yeah (All I need is time) Oh, all I need is time (A moment that is mine) That's mine

While I'm in between I'm not a girl, not yet a woman, no no All I need is time, a moment that is mine While I'm in between I'm not a girl, ooh Not yet a woman"

She stood there for a moment, her eyes still closed and it wasn't until the sound of the crowd cheering that she opened her eyes and immediately started to blush. Handing her microphone back she left the stage and made her way back to her friends.

Before she could get there though she was stopped by Spike. "That was brilliant Nibblet"

"Spike" Dawn cried throwing her arms around the vampire. "You came!"

"Of course I came Bit, didn't think I was gonna miss your birthday did you?" He said returning her hug, albeit a bit uneasy, not used to innocent physical affection.

"Well I wasn't sure. I know things with you and Buffy are a bit strained"

"Hush Nibblet, I wouldn't miss this for the world, and about your sister don't you worry about it, I can deal with it if it means I get to see you." The smile he was rewarded with nearly lit up the entire room. "Now c-mon, let's get back to your mates."

Wrapping her arm around his waist she lead him back to the table.

"That was amazing Dawnie." Tara cried getting out of her chair and giving her a big hug.

"It really was" Buffy said giving her sister a hug of her own and a smile that said she understood what Dawn was trying to say.

"Thank you." Dawn said returning Buffy's smile with a grin of her own.

Buffy turned to face the man next to her sister. Well the vampire but sometimes all she could see was the man. She gave him a small smile which he returned. "Spike."

"Buffy."

"... Xander"

Willow who was sitting in between Xander and Tara slapped the back of his head.

"Oww" Xander cried, raising his hand to rub the wound.

Willow glared at him and he lowered his head.

"Quiet now"

Spike took his own seat between Buffy and Dawn awkwardly.

"So... who's up next?" Anya asked.

End Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The song was sung by Britany Spears. 


End file.
